Sequins Really Are the Party!

What I Wore to Host

I wanted to feel dressy and luxe, but still relaxed so I combined this very biased cut silky dress with a slouchy soft tee. It was comfy but still made me feel festive. That headband did not last very long. I have no shelf on the back of my head to rest head bands on so they just slide right off.

I invited over a bunch of wonderful ladies to share some time in a relaxed atmosphere with food. We also did our nails. =) I know I never really sit down and do mine so I thought I'd put out a tray with pretty polishes just in case anyone else wanted to paint their nails while chatting and almost everyone did. It was such a lovely time to be able to relax and celebrate the season with all my favorite girls (well, almost all).

The Best Colors in the World

I didn't touch up these photos at all, that's how vibrant the leaves and colors were. It was about 4pm and slightly misting. I braided my hair to keep it from being a big 'ol frizzball for this shoot with Azriel. She needed some shots for her Teen Vogue cover for design class. I don't know if I should ever take photos with her again because she is so stinkin beautiful (plus waaaay younger than me, isn't it obvious? lol). It's fun though, because we have similar hobbies and interests in the style/design world. She's definitely not afraid to mix color/pattern which I love. She's pretty rad, period.

My Favorite Girl

Just a couple of snaps from last month when the weather was dandy. Love this little cat.

Did you miss me?

These outfits are almost EXACTLY the same except for the skirts/belt/floral necklace. We just got an Anne Taylor Loft in Lincoln and I think I have found my favorite store of all time! Anne Taylor is in the same style vein as my beloved Kate Spade but the LOFT version is much more in my budget range. Fun colors, prints, more professional looks that still feel young, and feminine details. Perfect. The only problem I've found is that the clothes sizing is sometimes for a much more womanly figure, not skinny minnies like me. A lot of the tops are boxy and wider than I would typically wear unless made to look oversized in a fluid, drapey fabric. This peplum top above, however, is definitely not boxy. I love the weave of this sweater because it's really tight (the weave, not the fit) so it's warm but still thin so doesn't add extra bulk. And less likely to catch and snag. Those cranberry tights are my favorite this year...I've already gone through two pairs and now on my third...I'm usually not hard on tights but I've snagged one too many on Christmas trees this season as I decorate for various parties.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

 

This happened about a month ago. Stringing white ornaments to hang from the vanity lights in my bathroom on a day when it was too warm to wear a jacket or tight. At this minute I am sitting in my flannel pj's drinking candy cane hot chocolate, listening to Christmas music with the lights of the tree the only lights in the room. A candle named Winter Night is burning. We just got a snow storm and I am feeling very much in the spirit. I hope the run-around is almost done for all of you so you can relax and enjoy the season now. I have a couple more errands but I am now officially on vacation until after New Year's so I am going to take it slow.  

Speaking of New Year's, anyone have any plans?

Christmas through the years

I thought it would be fun to take you through my Christmas trees and mantle decor from the past few years. You can definitely tell how poor I was the first year! But then I got my white tree and started adding bulbs to my collection during after Christmas sales and now I like to change up my colors every year. 

Year 1:

 I did a lot of home-made stuff: clear bulbs with paint swirled inside, paper stars, beaded snowflakes, hand sewn stockings, ribbon embellished candles, and an art doll made from polymer clay.

Year 2:

 Continued with my green/gold/red colors but this time I had some pretty bulbs to add and a new white tree! Made a runner out of multiple colors of green ribbon with bulbs tied here and there. Added yellow glass hurricanes with cranberries and green candles. Made a floral centerpiece with white mums, red roses, and gold bulbs and bead tied in and surrounded by pine branches. The flowers were then put in a vase with cranberries and water. 

Year 3:

 Same thing but different star.

Year 4:

 Saw some pretty blue colored bulbs and decided to switch things up. Added partridge feathers, cinnamon sticks, pine cones, and some pretty bronze flowers. Made paper cones in place of stockings and filled them with candy for the adults and a squishy piglet for baby niece. 

Year 5:

 pink and turquoise ornaments with pink ribbon lined with silver tinsel and big white feathers on top! I'm pretty sure this was a re-decorate after Christmas.

Year 6:

 Orange, gold, pink! I was going for champagne colors. This technically was a re-decorate for New Years. Added tinsel, feathers, and ribbon. 

Year 7:

This is the year I lost a bunch of my photos and we had to redo our Christmas card last minute. This is the photo we took for it. I did purple and gold. Lots of ribbon and topped with the bronze flowers. Used the flokati on the mantle again with the little white bottle brush trees and glitter reindeer. 

Year 8:

 Last year I went with pretty candy colors with jewel tones. pink lights added in, turquoise, gold, mercury glass, purple, green, orange. 

Year 9:

Re-decorate for New Year's in red/pink/gold. Poinsettias! And if you look closely, there is a little gold birds nest at the top.

Do you ever re-decorate your tree after Christmas?

Lumberjacks and Dairymaids Party

 For the hubby's birthday this year, I decided on a lumberjack theme and asked guests to dress the part with beard preferred. I made little apple kits with peanut butter/chocolate spread, caramels, almonds, pecans, and coconut.

 Testing out our beards

 S'more cupcakes. These were actually vegan so I had to hunt for vegan marshmallows. I had a bar of 80% cocoa which I found too bitter to eat so I drizzled it on top since the frosting was so sweet. Don't they look like toasted marshmallow?

 These were falafel sliders with avocado hummus and tahini sauce. Loved them.

 The woodsmen

There was only one Dairymaid. She was pretty darn cute though. =)

Home Sweet Home

 teapots

 spiderman?

 salon style

 floral headbands

favorite books